Roof.



Patented out. 2s, |902. F. L. KAM-: Y

(Application led Mar. 7, 1902.)

(no llndel.)

wlTNEssEs ATTO RN EYS tinuous sheet.

UNITED' STATES Fries.

FREDERICK L. KANE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

`SPEcrmonfrroN forming para of Letters Patent No. 712,193, dated october 28,1902.

Application tiled March 7, 1902.

To a/ZZ whom, it m/a'z/ con/067%:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. KANE, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of New York city, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roofs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in roofs, and hasfor its object to produce a roof which has all the advantages of the ordinary form of an asphaltconcrete root` with none of its disadvantages.V The ordinary asphalt-concrete roof as `now laid consists of a number of thicknesses of tarred paper or roofing-felt, which are cemented together by pitch or asphalt, Vthe pitch or asphalt being melted and applied hot, and when this pitch or asphalt cools it hardens and firmly binds the layers of paper or felt together. On top of the layers of tarred pa.-l per is laid a course of asphalt, the same as used for streets, walks, iioors, &C., in a con- 'Ihis asphalt must be laid hot and rolled or smoothed compact and level before it cools and hardens. This form of roof is very expensive to lay, it requiring a very high degree of skill to get the concrete level and smooth after it is applied,and it is impossible to prevent the thin layer ot' asphalt concrete from cracking after it becomes hard. Another great objection to this form of roof is that the application of the hot concrete on top ofthe tarred paper or Vroofing-felt` will drive the pitch and tar out of the paper, and the heat will also cause the oils inthe pitch and tar to penetrate into/the concrete, causing blisters and soft spots in the concrete and preventing the same from becoming uniformly hard. i

By my invention I am enabled to lay the concrete cold and form a concrete roof for a very small fraction of the cost of laying such a roof in the manner above described.

In carrying out my invention I make concrete tiles of suitable size from asphalt, pitch, or other bituminous material mixed with sand, gravel, or slag. These tiles may be formed in any desired way and of any desired size. It is found in practice, however,

that it is preferable to make the same about one-half an inch thick and of about eight by twelve inches square, the tiles being made in Serial No. 97,033. (No model.)

an ordinary press or in any other way desired.

I prefer to lay the roof in the following manner: I rst put down a number of layers oftarred paper or roofing-felt and cement the same together by applying coatings of hot pitch or asphalt, above referred to, or any other material or composition may be used, it only being necessary that a base be formed which is a bituminous one. Over the top layer of felt or tarred paper or other bituminous base I place a thin coat of asphaltic cement, consisting of a mixture of pitch, asphalt, or other bituminous material with a solventV volatile oil--such as naphtha, ben- Zin, ether, or similar substance-such mixture being of about the consistency of paint and is applied cold with a brush or any other suitable way. I then lay the concrete tiles on top of this coating, with their edges close together. I have discovered that the asphalt or other bituminous material in the base and in the concrete tiles when so laid will be slightly softened by the volatile solvent in the` cement at the surface in contact with such cement and that when the volatile solvent evaporates the tiles, cement, and base of tarred paper, felt, or other bituminous material make practically one solid mass. This union can be best described as a kind of a weld.- In this way a roof is produced which is exceedingly cheap to lay, which is not af-V fected by atmospheric conditions-such as frost, itc-and which is durable and absolutely water-tight.

Referring to the drawing, wherein I show a section vof a roof laid in accordance with my invention, l designates the arches or trusses on which the roof is supported. These trusses form no part of my invention and are merely shown for the sake of clearness.

2 designates the base, which, preferably, is formed of layers of tarred felt or paper, and, as shown, these layers are cemented together by melted pitch or asphalt vin the ordinary way; but the base may be formed inany other way that may be found desirable, it only being necessary that it be composed of a bituminous material.

3 designates a thin layer of cement, which is applied on top of the layers of paper or felt, and this cement is composed of a mixture of IOO pitch, asphalt, or other bituminous material and a solvent, preferably a volatile solvent oil-such as naphtha, benzin, ether, or other similarsubstances-it being entirely immaterial, so far as the invention is concerned, what solvent is used so long as it is one which will dissolve or cut the asphalt or other bituminous material. The solvent oil and pitch or asphalt are mixed in such proportions as to produce a paint or cement, and this paint or cement is applied cold in any desired way. After the cement has been applied to the roof the concrete tiles 4 are simply laid thereon cold. The solvent oil in the cement will immediately attack the surface of the tiles in contact therewith and slightly soften that part thereof, as above described. When the tiles are laid on the cement, which is before the volatile oils have had time to evaporate, and is consequently soft, some of the cement oozes up between the joints, and in that way the adjacent faces of the tiles are slightly softened and made to adhere to each other, so that when the oil has all evaporated and the asphalt hardened the tiles form a practically continuous surface.

While I prefer to mix the solvent oil with a bituminous material, I do not intend to limit myself to such mixture, for I may use the solvent oil as the welding or solvent medium alone and without such bituminous mixture-that is to say, I may apply the solvent oil directly to the base or the tile, or to both, and lay the one on the other, and thus complete the union, as described-for it will be understood that I only employ the bituminous material in the paint described as a convenient means of carrying and applying the solvent and as a supplement to the amount of the bituminous material desirable for the weld; but if the tile and base are suliciently rich in bituminous materia lto be affected by the solvent oil to make the weld then the solvent oil will attack the bituminous material in the tile and base and sufficiently dissolve the same to cause the union; but in practice I have found that I obtain good results by using the solvent oil in combinatlon with a suitable amount of bituminous material to make a paint-like substance, as described.

While I have stated in my specification that I apply my cement cold with a brush, I do not intend by such statement to be limited to any particular degree of temperature. I have used this expression only to distinguish my asphalt roof from that which has heretofore been employed, wherein the asphalt has been applied in a hot and plastic condition. It will be understood, of course, that the solvent paint or solvent oil will take the temperature of the atmosphere. If the atmosphere is very cold, it may be desirable to heat the solvent volatile oil or mixture of solvent volatile oil and bitu minous substance to about 100. The degree of temperature is immaterial for the purposes of my invention, it being only necessary that the solvent oil or solvent oil and bituminous substance be in such a plastic condition that it could be readily applied, as indicated.

By the use of asphalt tiles secured to a suitable base of bituminous material I am enabled to form a roof which has all the advantages of the ordinary form of asphalt roof which I have previously described, but at a much less cost.

Another one of the advantages of using a tile formed of asphalt concrete, as I have described, is that this tile at the ordinary temperature is somewhat pliable and will conform itself to any inequalities there may be in the roof due to the .settling of the building or from any other cause.

I am aware that it is old to lay a roof composed of a base made up of layers of felt or tarred paper cemented together by bituminous cement com posed of asphalt or other cementing composition and to cover this with a layer of clay or pottery tiles, which are secured to the base by cement. This form of roof, however, has the objection that as the tiles are not pliable and will not conform to any inequality in the roof they will separate from the cement and become loose on the roof, thus destroying their eflciency.

By the use of a tile made of bituminous material such as I have described I am able to prepare in advance the wearing-surface of the roof by the manufacture of the tiles described in a convenient form in which they may be readily handled and applied. This I regard as of essential importance rather than applying the wearing-surface in a plastic state, such as that heretofore described. Furthermore, by the interposition between the bituminous base and the bituminous tile of a bituminous cementI am able to create a homogeneous union which is obviously very difiere ent from that union which is brought about by laying a pottery tile on a bituminous base and securing the same thereto by cement. As heretofore stated, I am aware that it is old to secure pottery tiles to a bituminous base by a cement; but I believe that it is new with me to make the whole structure one bituminous mass in themanner andform specified by me.

While I have designated my invention as pertaining to improvement in roofs, I do not intend to be limited to the use of my invention for roofs alone, as it may be employed for the making of floors, areaways, or other purposes to which it may obviously be applied.

While I have described what I believe to be the best form of my invention, I desire to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact constituents and materials which I have described, as other constituents and materials might be substituted and other changes made without departing from my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A roof formed of a base of bituminous IOO material, and tiles of bituminous material, the base and tiles united by a bituminous cement interposed between them.

2. A roof formed of a base of bituminous material and tiles of bituminous material, said base and tiles being united together by means of a solventinterposed between them.'

3. A roof formed-ot' a base of bituminous material and tiles of bituminous material, said base and tiles being united together by means of a cement formed of a mixture of bituminous material and a solvent oil interposed between them.

4. A roof composed of a base of tar or felt paper and concrete asphalt tiles, said tiles and foundation being united together by means of a solvent interposed between them.

5. A roof composed of tarred paper or felt and asphalt tiles united thereto by a thickness of asphaltic cement containing a volatile solvent oil.

6. A roof composed of tarred paper or felt and asphalt tiles united thereto by a thickness of asphaltic cement, said cement being composed of a mixture of asphalt or other bituminous material and a Volatile solvent oil.

7. A root` composed of tarred paper or felt and asphalt tiles united thereto by a thickness of asphaltic cement containing a volatile solvent oil, the tiles and cement being applied without the use of heat.

8. A roof composed of tarred paper or felt and asphalt tiles united thereto by a thickness of asphaltic cement, said cement being composed of a mixture of asphalt or other bituminous material and a volatile solvent oil, the tiles and cement being applied without the use of heat.

9. A roof formed of a base composed of layers of tarred paper or felt, united together and coated with bituminous material, tiles made of asphalt pitch or other bituminous material mixed with sand gravel, slag or other suitable substance, said tiles being united to said base by the use of a volatile solvent oil or substance.

lO. A roof formed of a base composed of layers of tarred paper or felt, united together and coated with bituminous material, tiles made of asphalt pitch or other bituminous material mixed with sand gravel, slag or other suitable substance, said tiles being united to said base by the use of a cement made of bituminous material and a volatile solvent oil or substance.

Signed by me at New York city, county and State of New York, this 28th day of February, 1902.

FREDERICK L. KANE.

Witnesses:

SIDNEY R. PERRY, EMMA WaFINLAYsON. 

